NYC Marathon: Chepkirui wins again, Almgren takes first

The New York City Marathon has been held annually since 1970, with the current five-borough route first adopted for the bicentennial. On Sunday, the event marked its 50th year of running through all five boroughs, attracting roughly 60,000 participants from more than 140 countries.

Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya captured the women's title for the second time in three years. She finished in 2:24:36, pulling ahead of defending champion Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters. Chepkirui noted that the last mile was tricky and that she had to remain patient against Obiri, who was running strong.

American Jessica McClain finished third, marking the first time a U.S. woman placed on the podium in this race since 2018. She passed Obiri in the final strides to finish six seconds behind the winner. McClain described the day as magical, stating that she had to adjust her pace as she went and was surprised when Obiri came back into view.

Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the men's race in his debut at 26.2 miles. He recorded a time of 2:06:01, pulling away from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile. Almgren had previously specialized in half-marathons and said he did not know how to feel about the result.

Crippa finished 13 seconds behind Almgren. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho took third place, narrowly beating defending champion Benson Kipruto. Almgren's time was the third fastest in the course's 50-year history, with six runners finishing under 2:07 in the top ten.

Almgren became the first runner to win his debut marathon in New York since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia in 2010. American Zouhair Talbi finished sixth, setting the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in the event's history. Almgren said he chose New York because the focus is on position rather than time.

The course saw a minor change for the first time in 15 years. The route at Mile 20 in the Bronx was altered to reduce the number of turns from seven to five. This adjustment aimed to ease street closures in that area of the city.

Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair race for the eighth time. He defeated Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second after passing him in the final 100 meters. Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland won the women's wheelchair race with a time of 1:40:02, which was the second-fastest time in race history.

Debrunner's time trailed her own record from 2023 by about 30 seconds. Susannah Scaroni finished third in the women's wheelchair race, more than eight minutes behind Debrunner. Scaroni competed three months after giving birth to her first child.